I was just thinking that we don't do a good job of introducing players to big events. We just expect them to understand. I was hoping we could work together and collect some info here so people understood what otherwise sounds like code: NPPL, HB, D1...

Here's a start:

The National Professional Paintball League (NPPL) is hosting their premier annual event of the year this Friday through Sunday right off the Huntington Beach (HB) pier. The event is commonly called HB. It was first held in 2003 right in the sand. The league installs turf and grandstands right on the beach and thousands of spectators pass by every day.

The NPPL is primarily 7-man (7 players on the field at a time for each team) but it does also offer a 5-man division and sometimes 3-Man to lower division teams. The most difficult division is Pro 7-Man and then D1, D2, D3 etc in descending order.

The NPPL only allows players to play with semi-automatic or pump paintball guns. There's no burst, ramp or full auto allowed. The rate of fire (ROF) is limited to a maximum of 15 balls per second (BPS) or as fast as the players fingers can pull the trigger (whichever is lower).

The sidelines can not coach the players on the field in any form. The players on the field have to talk to each other to figure out where the opposing team is, the time remaining, how many of their own players they have lost and any strategy to try to win the game.

Dynasty is the Pro favorite going into the event since they just came off a win in the PSP, they've won HB more than any other Pro team and there are several Pro teams that have traditionally played the NPPL who won't be playing this year.

New changes for 2013 to the NPPL:
The bunkers used for the layout are now almost the same as for the other major US league (the PSP) with the exception of the center.

Several of the professional teams from last year won't be playing:
Infamous, XSV (last year's champions), Tampa Bay Damage, Houston Heat, Impact

In Race To formats: Point score
A team scores one point each time
1) Any active player touches the point flag at the opposing team’s starting station.
2) The opposing team surrenders by throwing a white flag or presses the surrender button in their pit (if provided by the league).
3) A player on the opposing team receives a major penalty within the final 60 seconds of regulation time or at any time within an over time point.

Traditional 7 Man
27.01 Game Scoring. Scoring for games will be conducted on a 100 point system and will be awarded as follows:
(1) Eliminated Players. Both teams will be awarded 3 points for every player eliminated on the opposing team
(2) Remaining Players. Both teams will be awarded 1 point for every player on such team not eliminated.
(3) Flag Pull. The first team to pull its opponent’s flag will be awarded 32 points. Flag pull points will be awarded only to the first team that pulls its opponent’s flag.
(4) Flag Hang. The first team to successfully hang the opposing team’s flag at its flag station will be awarded 40 points.

5 Man Traditional
29.06 Game Scoring. Scoring for games will be conducted on a 100 point system and will be awarded as follows:
(1) Eliminated Players. Both teams will be awarded 4 points for every player eliminated on the opposing team
(2) Remaining Players. Both teams will be awarded 2 points for every player on such team not eliminated.
(3) Flag Pull. The first team to pull the center flag will be awarded 20 points. Flag pull points will be awarded only to the first team that pulls the flag.
(4) Flag Hang. The first team to successfully hang the flag at its opponent’s flag station will be awarded 50 points.

3 Man Traditional
30.06 Game Scoring. Scoring for games will be conducted on a 100 point system and will be awarded as follows:
(1) Eliminated Players. Both teams will be awarded 5 points for every player eliminated on the opposing team
(2) Remaining Players. Both teams will be awarded 1 point for every player on such team not eliminated.
(3) Flag Pull. The first team to pull the center flag will be awarded 32 points. Flag pull points will be awarded only to the first team that pulls the flag.
(4) Flag Hang. The first team to successfully hang the flag at its opponent’s flag station will be awarded 50 points.

How is this enforced? Security guards kicking out people in the crowd who are calling positions out?

21.05 Spectator Interference. Spectators may be allowed to observe games and the activitieson a field but may not:
(1) Issue instructions to players on the field,
(2) Make comments about play which are likely to be heard by players on the field,
(3) Have markers in their possession, or
(4) Otherwise interfere with play in any manner whatsoever.
(5) Team members and associates of the competing teams who interfere or communicate with the play of that game will immediately receive a penalty as if a player Played-On.
(6) Any spectator found in violation of any section of 21.05 shall be removed from the event.

I haven't seen a hb nppl since the one in 02 or 03 (in person) right before I quit. Now that I'm getting back into pb, things seem insanely different. Nppl seems anti spectator..

I like the fact that NPPL doesn't allow spectators to call or point out positions and I like how there is no sideline coaching. PSP gets very annoying when people are constantly screaming to players on the field telling them the other teams every move, seems pretty cheap and unnecessary to me. Just let them play.